It’s that haunted time of the year again, folks! Time to carve those pumpkins! If you guys are anything like me, you spend most of your time trying to keep the guts off the floor and the kids from being injured. With this article, you can learn some little tricks that will make pumpkin carving so much easier.
1. Carve Your Pumpkin from the Bottom.
The traditional way to carve a pumpkin is to cut around the top, remove it and take the guts and seeds out. That causes issues as the pumpkin starts to decay. The top always seems to get smaller and fall inside extinguishing the candle. The best way to carve a pumpkin is to cut around the bottom. It keeps moisture in which prevents it from rotting. Also, it makes it easier to take the guts out, and it just looks prettier.
2. Use a Strand of Lights or a Solar Disk Light.
Instead of using a candle to light up your jack-o-lantern, you can use a small strand of LED lights. Simply take a strand and place them inside the pumpkin. An even easier and cheaper idea is to use a solar disk light. You can purchase these at any home improvement store, and they require no battery as they are powered by the sun. You’ll have to take it out of the pumpkin every day and let the sun charge it but replace at dusk, and you’ll have perfectly lighted pumpkins every night.
3. Get That Power Drill Out.
One of the coolest new carving trends is making evenly spaced holes using a power drill. These pumpkins are so beautiful and tranquil that you’ll be wondering why you didn’t know this trick sooner. All You’ll need to do this is a power drill and some different sized bits. If you’re worried about making your holes evenly spaced, you can use a pumpkin pattern and a thumbtack. Tape the pattern to your pumpkin and poke holes with the tack. When you’ve finished, remove the paper and carefully drill the holes with your drill.
4. A Couple Ways to Make Your Pumpkin Last Longer
The worst thing about buying pumpkins is the fact that they don’t last very long. The weather, the natural process of decay and the use of candles can drastically cut down on how long your pumpkin lasts. A few tricks can save you some time. Throughout the year, stock up on silica packets. You’ve all seen those little packets that come in items like shoe boxes, beef jerky, and blankets.
Save those and throw a few in your jack-o-lanterns. They will help absorb moisture and keep your pumpkins fresher longer. Another good trick is to create a bleach solution with one tablespoon of bleach and one quart of water. Spritz the inside of the pumpkin to keep it lasting longer. One more trick is using leftover floor wax. Apply one teaspoon of liquid acrylic floor wax to a dampened rag.
Apply the wax to the entire surface of your pumpkin, and when it dries, it will create a barrier from moisture that will keep your pumpkin fresher longer.
5. Ditch Those Spoons
Our last trick is to get rid of those spoons and break out the ice cream scoop! There are several advantages to using an ice cream scoop instead of a spoon. Ice cream scoops are more durable than spoons, and they’re bigger which means less work for you. You can scoop way more with an ice cream scoop, and you don’t have to worry about it breaking.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this article and hope these tricks help you and your kids make some beautiful jack-O-lanterns!! We’d love to see your fabulous creations so feel free to drop them in the comments below!
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